At one time fences, like this one, could be found all over Wabash County. This is a split rail fence also called a worm or snake fence. In the early days settlers used the abundant trees to make rails and then stacked them one on top of the other in an interlocking zig-zag fashion. They were easy to create, repair and later take down. This one was found at the entrance to Brown County State Park. When growing up in Indiana Abraham Lincoln was known as a "rail splitter."
According to the 1824 law shown below worm fences were required for enclosing animals upon the owners land.
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Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana. That all fields kept for enclosures, shall be well enclosed with a fence composed of sufficient posts and rails, posts and pailing, palisadoes or rails alone, laid up in the manner which is commonly called a worm fence; which posts shall be deep set and strongly fastened in the earth, and all fences composed of posts and rails, posts and pailings, or palisadoes, shall be at least five feet in hieight; and all fences which are composed of rails in manner which is commonly denominated a worm fence, shall be at least five feet. What shall be six inches in height, the uppermost rail in each and every fence, pannel thereof, supported by strong stakes strongly set and fastened in the earth, so as to compose what is commonly called a stakeing and ridering, otherwise the uppermost rail in each and every pannel shall be braced with two strong rails, poles, or stakes, locking each corner or angle thereof; and in all the foregoing materials, the apertures between the rails, pailngs, or palisadoes within two feet of the surface of the earth, shall not be more than four inches, and from the distance of two feet from the surface of the earth, the apertures between such rails, pailings, or palisadoes shall not be more than six inches, and that in all worm fences staked and ridered, the worm shall be at least four ket six inches, and if locked as aforesaid, the worm shall be at least five feet and all fences of the height and strength herein required, shall be considered lawful against horses and neat cattle.
Sec. 2. If any horse, mule, or ass, sheep, goat, or neat cattle, shall break into any person's enclosure, the fence being of the aforesaid height and strength, or if any hog or hogs shall break into any person's enclosure, the fence being of the aforesaid sufficiency, and by the view of two persons for that purpose appointed by the board of county com-
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missioners of said county, found and approved to be such, then the owner of such creature or creatures, shall be liable to make good all damages to the owner of the enclosure; for the first offence, single damages only; ever afterwards, double the damages sustained.
Sec. 3. For the better ascertaining and regulating: of partition fences, it is hereby directed that when any neighbour shall improve lands adjacent to each other, or where any person shall enclose any lands adjoining to another's land already fenced, so that any part of the first person's becomes the partion fence between them, in both these cases, the charge of such division fence (so far as enclosed on both sides) shall he equally borne and maintained by both parties; to which and other ends in this law mentioned, the board of county commissioners in the several counties in this commissioners state, yearly, shall nominate and appoint three honest and able men, for each township respectively, who being duly sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their appointment, shall proceed, at the request of any person or persons feeling him or themselves aggrieved, to view all such fence or fences, about which any difference may happen to arise; and the aforesaid persons or any two of them in each township respectively, shall be the sole judges of the charge to be borne by the delinquent or by both or either party, and of the sufficiency of all fences, whether partition or others; and when they shall adjudge any fence to be insufficient, they shall give notice thereof to the owners or proprietors or occupiers thereof, upon request of the other, and due notice given by the said viewers, shall refuse or neglect to make or repair the said fence or fences, or to pay the money of the charge of any fence before made, being the division or common fence, within twenty days after notice given, then upon proof thereof before two justices of the peace of the respective county, it shall be lawful for the said justices to order the person aggrieved or suffering thereby, to make or repair the said fence or fences, who shall be reimbursed his costs and charges from the person so refusing or neglecting to make or repair the partition fence or fences aforesaid ; or to order the delinquent to pay the moiety of the charge of the fence before made, being a division or common fence, (as the case may be,) and if the delinquent shall neglect or refuse to pay to the party injured, the moiety of the charge of any fence before made, or to reimburse the costs and charges of making and repairing the said fence or fences, under the order aforesaid, then the same shall be levied upon the delinquent's goods and chattels, under warrant from a justice of the peace, by distress and sale thereof, the overplus, if any, to be returned to the said delinquent: Provided that nothing herein contained, shall be intended to prevent or debar any person or persons from
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enclosing his or her own grounds in any manner they please, with sufficient walls or fences of timber, other than those heretofore mentioned, or by dykes, hedges or ditches. All such walls and fences to be in height, at least five feet from the ground, and all dykes to be at least three feet in height from the bottom of the ditch, and planted and set with thorn and other quickset, so that such enclosures shall fully answer and secure the several purposes meant to be answered and secured by this law: Provided also, that such walls or fences of timber, other than those heretofore mentioned, and dykes, hedges and ditches, shall be subject to all provisions, inspections, and restrictions respectively, to which by this law, any other enclosure or fence is made liable," according to the true intent and meaning hereof.
Allen county fruit growers in 1915 have produced one of the largest yields of apples in many years and favored with ideal weather conditions at the right time and most of the necessary farm work out of the way they have been able to take care of their abundant apple crop in first class fashion. Hundreds, or perhaps thousands of bushels of this surplus yield that would have gone to waste under less favorable conditions have been converted into cider, apple butter or apple jell, while some have been laid away for home consumption this winter.
Only a very small percentage of Allen county's annual crop is fit for the market and suitable for preservatoin in cold storage. This deplorable fact is due to a lack of interest on the part of our fruit-growers who neglect to attend to the spraying of the trees at the right time, in most instances probably because farmers at that season of the year are too busy with other work that they consider more important. The majority of our farmers still adhere to the old plan and are satisfied if the animals yield is large enough in quantity and good enough in quality to keep them in vinegar and apple butter the year around, with a few bushels of the best laid away for home use during the winter months.
Waste Exaggerated
Much has been said about the enormous waste of perfectly good apples by allowing them to rot on the ground in the farm orchards. "City folks" taking a spin through the country report that hundreds of bushels may be seen lying under the trees where they are left to rot. A prominent farmer, who was questioned about this, however, asserts that in most instances of this kind these apples will not be lying on the ground very long, for when cider making day comes around the rest will be shaken from the trees and the entire lot hauled to the cider mill where they are converted into several barrels of cider for vinegar or apple butter making and probably a few gallons of apple jell, the latter being made at the mill "while you wait."
KEY TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
1-Cooking apple butter on the David Klopfenstein farm, near Grabill.
2-J. F. Muller, of Leo, oldest cider mill owner in county.
3-One tree's yield on the Kloptenstein farm.
4-The Leo cider mill.
Forty Thousand Bushels.
Probably forty thousand bushels of apples have been produced this year in Allen county, according to County Agricultural Agent C. Henry, who states that, thirty-three or thirty-five thousand bushels is an average apple crop for Allen county, which ranks second in the state in the number of bearing apple trees. By far the biggest percentage of this enormous apple crop is taken to the cider mills of which there are quite a number in the county. Long rows of wagons loaded with apples may now be seen lined up at these mills every day, each farmer awaiting his turn to have his apples ground and his barrels filled with the sweet cider that flows from the press.
When asked, what quantity of apples is required to make a gallon of cider; George Stulte, a prominent Washington township farmer, gave the following figures to a Journal-Gazette representative:
"We are just through cooking twenty-three gallons of apple butter for which we used seventy bushels of cider and seven bushels of peeled and cored apples. Figuring one bushel of apples for each four gallons of cider, it took about twenty-four bushels of apples to produce the three gallons of apple butter, or approximately one bushel of apples for each gallon of butter. Apple butter is sold at about one dollar a gallon. It takes about twelve hours to cook one kettle of apple butter. Apple jell is cooked from the cider right at the mill, and seven gallons of cider, are required for each gallon of jell."
In the accompanying illustration are shown Mr. and Mrs. David Klopfenstein, of near Grabill, and their two daughters, engaged in the task of preparing their annual supply of apple butter. The boiling cider and apples must be stirred continually in order to keep it from scorching. In the lower right corner is shown the Leo cider mill, one of the busiest places in the county at this season of the year, Mr. J. F. Muller, the owner of the mill, is one of the oldest and most experienced makers of cider and apple jell in the county.
Interested in old fences, gates, bridges? Or need to build one (rather than buy one)? Take a look at George A. Martin's...
Interested in old fences, gates, bridges? Or need to build one (rather than buy one)? Take a look at George A. Martin's book from 1892. - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58452/58452-h/58452-h.htm I found a free online copy of the book. You can also pick up another edition (less than 100 years old) from various bookstores. I especially liked the fancy rustic gate, the stone bridge, and the hinges which were made of wood. If you want to make a fence, you get a lot of options and ideas with wood, wire, and stone.
As Indiana's largest county, Allen County boasts the third largest population and second most number of farms in the state. Roughly 64 percent of its 420,682 acres are in agriculture; producing commodities including corn, soybeans, hay, livestock, poultry, eggs, horses, wheat, oats, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Farmland in Indiana Nearly two-thirds of Indiana's 23 million acres are farmlands. Five of the state's 92 counties have more than 90% of their land area in farm uses (see Figure 1). Only six counties have less than one-third of their areas in farms. In 1997, 65% of Allen County land was farmland.
Allen County, Indiana Named for Colonel John Allen, who fought Tecumseh's siege of Fort Wayne in 1812 with 657.30 square miles from StatsIndiana. 657.30 square miles = 420,672 acres.
Indiana lost about 345,700 acres of farmland to other purposes between 2010 and 2022, but agricultural productivity still increased, the state found in a study released Monday. [ Inventory of Lost Farmland Full Report 2010 – 2022 Prepared by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. [ Allen County lost 28,034 acres ]
Most of it was lost to residential development around the edges of cities and suburban areas, according to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA).
“The inventory of lost farmland was an opportunity for ISDA and legislators to gain access to reliable data, where up until now, we could only make assumptions,” agency Director Don Lamb said in a news release.
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The study
ISDA used two data sources: a parcel dataset from Indiana’s Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) and a cropland data layer dataset from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The first showed a total of about 18.31 million acres of land with property class codes in the agricultural range in 2010, and a total of 17.97 million acres in 2022 across the state of Indiana.
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The cropland data layer, after image generalization processing, showed about 14.84 million acres of land with land classified as any type of agricultural use to in 2010, and a total of 14.18 million acres in 2022.
That’s a difference of 664,988 acres. Most was lost to developed land, but some became forest.
...
Despite land losses, Hoosier cash crop production is up.
Indiana produced about 597 million bushels of corn for grain in 2012, but over 1 billion in 2022, per the report, which cited USDA yield data. Soybean production also increased from about 219 million bushels of soybeans in 2012 to over 326 million in 2022.
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Finally, it recommended that lawmakers consider prime farmland — the state’s best 12.6 million acres of land — in decision-making.
LISTEN: A new report from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture shows that the state lost an estimated 350,000 acres of farmland over a 12-year period.
LISTEN: A new report from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture shows that the state lost an estimated 350,000 acres of farmland over a 12-year period.
#DYK? George Washington cultivated industrial hemp at Mount Vernon, and we're growing it down on the Pioneer Farm for the first time this summer. Learn more about this new project during our Facebook Live with our Director of Horticulture Dean Norton on Wednesday, July 18 at 9:00 am EST, and at Did Washington Grow Hemp?
"For the first time in what historians say could be centuries, hemp has been grown and harvested at Mount Vernon, George Washington's historic estate." -- NPR's Brakkton Booker
"For the first time in what historians say could be centuries, hemp has been grown and harvested at Mount Vernon, George Washington's historic estate." -- NPR's Brakkton Booker
Did you know that more than 6 percent of all watermelons grown in the U.S. each year are grown in Indiana? Learn more about this summertime staple: http://my-indiana-home.com/indiana-watermelons/
Did you know that more than 6 percent of all watermelons grown in the U.S. each year are grown in Indiana? Learn more about this summertime staple: Farm Facts: Watermelon
That's right. In tonight's weather broadcast, I discussed "evapotranspiration" (or evapotransportation if you get tongue tied like me) and why cornfields are at least partially to blame for our humid summer days
“The only question I have is the 900 million acres of farmland. I come up with about 180 million acres of corn and beans, 45 million acres of wheat (rounded up), 11 million acres of cotton and 3 million rice. A quick google search showed me about 3 million in vegetables. 50 million acres of hay. That’s a total of 292 million. What am I missing? What are the other 608 million acres growing?”
Is China really buying up a bunch of U.S. farmland?
The auction attracted 25 bidders from Indiana and Ohio. Purdue University released its annual Farmland Value & Cash Rents Survey that showed top quality Indiana farmland was up 31% from the same time in 2021.
Hoosier Ag Today is on the road for Day #1 of the Fort Wayne Farm Show at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The...
Hoosier Ag Today is on the road for Day #1 of the Fort Wayne Farm Show at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The event runs through Thursday, Feb. 18 and features educational seminars and over 1,000 booths of innovative products.
Hoosier Ag Today's Eric Pfeiffer will bring you coverage throughout this week from the #FortWayneFarmShow at HoosierAgToday.com and on the Hoosier Ag Today mobile app—a free download for iPhone and Android.
Trying to find 2022 Census of Agriculture data? Check out our how-to-get-the-data video to aid your search. You can also find the full 2022 ag census report, U.S. and state tables, data Highlights and more at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.
Trying to find 2022 Census of Agriculture data? Check out our how-to-get-the-data video to aid your search. You can also find the full 2022 ag census report, U.S. and state tables, data Highlights and more at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.
With temperatures on the rise, Indiana farmers will soon begin planting this year’s crop which means you are more likely...
With temperatures on the rise, Indiana farmers will soon begin planting this year’s crop which means you are more likely to encounter large farm equipment on rural roads and highways.
ISF Director Matt Huber (EAPS) is featured discussing the Indiana Climate Impacts Assessment. Giving further insight into the globe's biggest impactors and how actions across the globe are effecting Hoosiers. Purdue Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Linda Prokopy
Climate change is directly impacting Indiana farms. The growing season in Indiana is getting harder to evaluate. The data, going in some cases back to 1895, show clear trends, and there are no signs of them stopping or reversing. Indiana will continue to warm, more precipitation will fall, and extremely hot days will be common in many parts of the state.
One in every three bites of food we eat is created with the help of pollinators. Pollinators help to make coffee, apples, squash, and of course, honey But climate change is affecting pollinators throughout the country, threatening food security and ecosystem health.
USDA Climate Hubs work to ensure that farms, grazing lands, and forests across the U.S. can support healthy pollinators. Because whether it’s a home garden or a forest, pollinators thrive in healthy environments. Learn more about pollinators and climate change from our stories today!
How tall is the corn in your garden? The Victory Garden has two unique cultivars ‘Glass Gem’ and ‘Ultra Violet’. Since they are both newer varieties, they have already exceeded.
But climate change is affecting pollinators throughout the country, threatening food security and ecosystem health.